John Cassavetes

Greek-American writer, actor, producer and director John Nicholas Cassavetes, famously known as John Cassavetes was born on December 9, 1929, in New York Click to look into! >> Read More... City, USA. His parents were Katherine Cassavetes and Nicholas John Cassavetes. He was one of the directors who featured his mother Katherine Cassavetes in his films. He spent a few years in Greece and at the age of seven reached New York. He enrolled in Port Washington High School. Then he attended Blair Academy and then to Chaplain College where he was detained because of his academic performance. Finally, he studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

After his graduation in 1950, he tried raising funds from family and friends to produce the movie ‘Shadows’. It was his directorial debut. Though it was not a hit, he managed to release it on the reasonable grounds in America and then it released as an imported movie in Europe. He got the Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival.

In 1950's, he acted in some television series like ‘The Night Holds Terror’, TV dramas like ‘Crime in the Streets’, and in movies like ‘Edge of the City’, ‘Saddle the Wind’, etc. His role in a crime drama ‘Decoy’ is well acclaimed. He also worked with his wife Gena Rowlands in a few serials. John Cassavetes also appeared in the interview program Here's Hollywood. John Cassavetes directed two films in the early 1960's named ‘Too Late Blues’ and ‘A Child Is Waiting’. Though they couldn't do the best at the box office, John was not discouraged and continued acting.

He appeared in guest roles in many of the TV series and TV dramas like ‘Rawhide’, ‘The Lloyd Bridges Show’, ‘Channing’, in which he portrayed the college life; ‘Breaking Point’, in which he played the role of a psychiatrist; ‘The Legend of Jesse James’. He appeared in some film roles in ‘The Killer’ and ‘The Dirty Dozen’, ‘The Fury’. For his role in ‘The Dirty Dozen’, he received the nomination for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Eventually, he rose to the heights of ‘the Best’ in many categories.

John Cassavetes has a very encouraging movie surrounded personal life. He introduced his wife in some of his films, and he took an interest in motivating their children towards film industry. He had married Gena Rowland on April 9, 1954. They had three children Nick Cassavetes, Alexandra Cassavetes, and Zoe Cassavetes. All his three children are into films. In 1968, he released ‘Faces’ which he independently produced and his wife Gena Rowland was portrayed in it. The film was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress categories. A Woman under the Influence is another movie for which Rowland received the Academy Award for Best Actress and Cassavetes received a nomination for the Best Director. He died because of cirrhosis of the liver at the age of 59 on February 3, 1989. He was the subject of some books too.